The Detroit Fire Department is expanding a program offering free winter fire safety home inspections and smoke alarm installation in response to the annual seasonal uptick of winter house fires.

Detroit Fire Department Fire Commissioner Donald Austin said today that any citizen can call the department to have a fire official come out and inspect their home.

“We will schedule you and send a fire company out...to walk through your home to explain to you the hazards that we see and what you can do to be safer,” Austin said.

Fire department officials said 36 people died in Detroit fires in 2011, 19 of those in the winter months.

Captain Christopher Dixon said the department does not recommend the use of space heaters as a regular heating source. But knowing they’re often used by those who have their heat shut off, Dixon demonstrated the proper use of three alternative heating sources: kerosene heaters, electric heaters and propane heaters.

Dixon said that keeping the area clear around alternative heaters is the best way to prevent fires.

“We don’t want to put newspapers on top of them,” he said. “We want to make sure they’re at least three feet away from anything.”

Dixon also attributed the misuse of gasoline in kerosene heaters and faulty hookups of propane tanks as causes of winter house fires.

Anyone interested in an inspection can call the Detroit Fire Department at 313-596-2968.